Strip accumulator

ABSTRACT

The disclosure of this invention relates to a rotary accumulator for weblike material, such as, rolled steel strip, and includes inner and outer roller baskets between which the strip is accumulated in the form of two distinct coils separated by a reversible loop of the strip. The baskets are formed by cooperative pairs of rollers, each pair having its own radially positioned guide and adjustable screw jack. The baskets are received in an outer frame which has a side member with a large circular opening that exposes the baskets to the exterior of the frame.

United States Patent Maruszczak Sept. 17, 1974 STRIP ACCUMULATOR 3,729,144 4/1973 Bijasiewicz et al. 242 55 [75] Inventor: g l gg Maruszczak Primary Examiner.lohn W. Huckert o Assistant Examiner-Jon W. Henry [73] Assignee: Wean United, Inc., Pittsbur h, Pa. Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Henry C. Westin; Daniel g 22 Filed: Sept. 8, 1972 Patch [21] Appl. No.: 287,291 [57] ABSTRACT The disclosure of this invention relates to a rotary ac- 52 US. Cl. 242/55, 242/55.19 emulator for Weblike material Such rolled Steel 51 Int. Cl B65h 17/48 Strip and includes inner and Outer roller baskets 58 Field 01 Search 242/55 55.19 R 78.1 tween which the Strip is accumulated in the form of 242763 1 two distinct coils separated by a reversible loop of the strip. The baskets are formed by cooperative pairs of [56] References Cited rollers, each pair having its own radially positioned UNITED STATES PATENTS guide and adjustable screw jack. The baskets are received in an outer frame which has a side member 6 13 g with a large circular opening that exposes the baskets ap 4 3,506,210 4/1970 Latour et al. 242 55 to the tenor of the frame 3,628,742 12/ 1971 Fritzsche 242/55 2 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures l "34 I 32 g 32 1 /2 r: 38 A //5 \\,,YJ1, /24

11 J \Y, x x 22 39 3a f I I I \J 24 24* 25 i.- I II 25 32 ,5 I 1 /9 g) 25 1 r \/f 7 i 24/ D 39 4 1 f i .a W i 4 23 38 L I STRIP ACCUMULATOR,

' Rotary strip accumulators of the type illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,258,212, 3,341,139 and 3,506,210, and particularly the latter have not received their full acceptance because, among other things, of the complicatedness of their designs which not only adversely reflect in the initial cost of manufacture, but also their maintenance cost and ease of operation.

Another difficulty of past rotary strip accumulators is the extreme difficulty in performing ordinary maintenance and being able to easily and quickly determine the condition of the strip and roller baskets during operation.

It is, therefore, the object of the present invention to provide an improved construction of a rotary strip accumulator of the above-noted type which will overcome each and every one of the aforesaid disadvantages noted with respect to present-day rotary accumulators.

More particularly, the present invention provides a strip accumulator having a first series of rollers arranged to form an inner roller basket, a second series of rollers arranged to form an outer roller basket, the baskets being arranged relative to each other so that a number of convolutions of strip can be wound into two distinct coils separated by a reversible loop of the strip, means for supporting said series of rollers in cooperative pairs, and separate means for adjusting at least some of said cooperative pairs of rollers.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an accumulator in accordance with aforesaid objects having a frame portion arranged normal to the axes of the distinct coils being formed in the accumulator, which portion is substantially open to the exterior of the frame thereby exposing the baskets of the accumulator.

These objects, as well as other novel features and advantages of the present invention, will be better appreciated when the following description of a preferred embodiment of the invention is read along with the accompanying drawings of which:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view, certain portions being omitted for clarity, of an accumulator incorporating the features of the present invention, and

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken on lines 22 of FIG.

In FIG. 1 there is illustrated an accumulator for rolled steel strip, the entry and delivery of which is indicated by the arrows associated with the strip 10, in which it is desired to feed the strip, made up of a continuous supply of coils, to a processing apparatus not shown, such as, a pickling line, where the line is to be operated continuously even though succeeding coils must be welded end-to-end which requires a stoppage of the strip in the welding zone. The fundamental characteristics of the illustrated accumulator will not be repeated herein since they appear in the aforesaid US. patents, particularly, US. Pat. No. 3,506,210.

The accumulator illustrated includes a pair of spaced-apart upright frames 11 and 12 supported on common base members 13 and additionally tied together by separator beams 15. Both the outside and in side frames, with respect to the driving side of the accumulator, have large open areas 18 between their interiors and a centrally located inner tubular member 19. According to the practice in operating present day rotary accumulators referred to above, the strip- 10 is formed into two distinct coils separated by a reversible loop of strip by inner and outer cooperative roller baskets 22 and 23, respectively.

One of the features of the present invention is to greatly simplify the construction and adjusting arrangement of these rollers, accordingly in referring first to the inner basket 22, it is made up of eight cooperative pairs of freely rotatable rollers 24, the pairs of rollers being carried at their opposite ends by carriage members 25. Each carriage member is guided radially relative to the center of the accumulator by a pair of guiding rods 26 which are best illustrated in FIG. 2 where the inner ends of the rods are shown connected to the tubular member 19 and their outer ends to one of the beam members 15. As also shown in FIG. 2, the carriage members 25 are allowed to move relative to the rods 26 in a radial direction by virtue of bushings 29 and are carried by parallel sided arms 31 of a tri-sided support member 32 which encloses the rods 26 and the rollers 24. Each support member 32 is adjusted radially to thereby similarly adjust the rollers 24 by a screw jack 34 connected to a motor 35, both of which are carried by one of the stationary beam members 15.

The supporting arrangement for the outer basket 23 is somewhat different in construction than that of the inner basket and is best shown in FIG. 2. The outer basket is made up of eight cooperative pairs of rollers 38 rotatably supported at their opposite ends by carriage members 39, in which the adjacent pairs of inner and outer rollers with their guiding members are alternately arranged about the circular path of the strip. The rollers of the lower two pairs of rollers 38 are driven positively by being directly connected to individual motors 41 while the other rollers of the outer basket are freely rotatably mounted in the carriage members 39. Each carriage member 39 is slidably received and radially guided by a pair of guide rods 42, the two elements being separated by bushings 43.

The innermost ends of the rods are secured to one of the stationary beam members 15, which as noted before, are carried by the frames 11 and 12. The members 15 also carry a screw jack 45-for each pair of rollers and its driving motor 46, the jack being connected to its associated roller set 38 by a rod 47 for imparting movement to the roller set in a radial direction.

In FIG. 2 the generally rectangular outline in phantom is meant to depict the outline form of the spiral discharge spool that supports and guides the strip leaving the accumulator.

In operation of the accumulator, as more fully explained in the aforesaid US. Pat. No. 3,506,210, the strip 10 is fed to the accumulator and as the reversible loop rotates in a counterclockwise direction under the influence of its own feeding force and the rotation of the rollers 38 of the two lower pairs of rollers, convolutions of strip are built up to form an inner and outer coil, during which time the baskets 22 and 23 are adjusted radially by the screw jacks 34 and 45, respectively, until the storage capacity of the accumulator is reached. Before or after this occurs, the strip may be fed from the accumulator, the present invention allows such movement of the baskets and their operating condition, as well as the condition of the strip, to be readily observed.

In accordance with the provisions of the patents statutes, I have explained the principle and operation of my invention and have illustrated and described what I consider to represent the best embodiment thereof.

I claim:

1. An accumulator for weblike material,

a first series of rollers arranged to form a circular inner roller basket of said accumulator,

a second series of rollers arranged to form a circular outer roller basket of said accumulator,

said two baskets being arranged relative to each other so that a number of convolutions of the material can be wound into two distinct coils separated from each other by a reversible loop of said material, and said rollers of each basket being arranged in cooperative pairs,

separate means for independently supporting each cooperative pair of rollers,

means for guiding said separate means for supporting said pair of rollers in radial directions relative to the axes of said formed coils,

said guiding means having opposed ends,

the construction being such that each cooperative pair of rollers of one of said baskets and its associated guiding means are arranged circumferentially relative to the axes of said formed coils between two cooperative pairs of rollers of the other basket and their associated guiding means,

screw jack means for independently adjusting, at

least, some of said pairs of said first and second rollers,

means for connecting said jack means to a different one of said separate means for supporting,

a frame having a member arranged outside of the ends of said formed coils and in a plane normal to the axes of said formed coils having an opening concentric with the axes of said formed coils sufficient to expose to the outside of said frame said inner and outer baskets in at least one of their operating positions,

said frame including an inner circular support member for supporting similar ends of said guiding means,

means carried by said frame for supporting the other similar ends of said guiding means,

said guide means of each of the rollers of said inner roller basket includes a pair of parallel guiding rods,

means for connecting the rollers of said inner roller baskets to said rods in a manner that the rollers are free to move radially relative to said rods,

a tri-sided frame secured to said rod connecting means arranged to enclose said rods and then associated roller,

means carried by said frame for supporting the outer ends of said rods and a screw jack means for one of said rollers of said inner roller basket, and

means for connecting said screw jack means to one of the sides of said tri-sided frame.

2. An accumulator for weblike material,

a first series of rollers arranged to form a circular inner roller basket of said accumulator,

a second series of rollers arranged to form a circular outer roller basket of said accumulator,

said two baskets being arranged relative to each other so that a number of convolutions of the material can be wound into two distinct coils separated from each other by a reversible loop of said material, and said rollers of each basket being arranged in cooperative pairs,

separate means for independently supporting each cooperative pair of rollers,

means for guiding said separate means for supporting said pair of rollers in radial directions relative to the axes of said formed coils,

said guiding means having opposed ends,

the construction being such that each cooperative pair of rollers of one of said baskets and its associated guiding means are arranged circumferentially relative to the axes of said formed coils between two cooperative pairs of rollers of the other basket and their associated guiding means,

screw jack means for independently adjusting, at

least, some of said pairs of said first and second rollers,

means for connecting said jack means to a different one of said separate means for supporting,

a frame having a member arranged outside of the ends of said formed coils and in a plane normal to the axes of said formed coils having an opening concentric with the axes of said formed coils sufficient to expose to the outside of said frame said inner and outer baskets in at least one of their operating positions,

said frame including an inner circular support member for supporting similar ends of said guiding means,

means carried by said frame for supporting the other similar ends of said guiding means,

said guide means of each of the rollers of said outer roller basket includes a pair of parallel guiding rods,

means for connecting the rollers of said outer roller basket to said rods in a manner that the rollers are free to move radially relative to said rods,

means carried by said frame for supporting the outer ends of said rods and said screw jack means for one of the rollers of said outer roller basket, and

means for connecting said screw jack means to its as sociated roller of said outer roller basket. 

1. An accumulator for weblike material, a first series of rollers arranged to form a circular inner roller basket of said accumulator, a second series of rollers arranged to form a circular outer roller basket of said accumulator, said two baskets being arranged relative to each other so that a number of convolutions of the material can be wound into two distinct coils separated from each other by a reversible loop of said material, and said rollers of each basket being arranged in cooperative pairs, separate means for independently supporting each cooperative pair of rollers, means for guiding said separate means for supporting said pair of rollers in radial directions relative to the axes of said formed coils, said guiding means having opposed ends, the construction being such that each cooperative pair of rollers of one of said baskets and its associated guiding means are arranged circumferentially relative to the axes of said formed coils between two cooperative pairs of rollers of the other basket and their associated guiding means, screw jack means for independently adjusting, at least, some of said pairs of said first and second rollers, means for connecting said jack means to a different one of said separate means for supporting, a frame having a member arranged outside of the ends of said formed coils and in a plane normal to the axes of said formed coils having an opening concentric with the axes of said formed coils sufficient to expose to the outside of said frame said inner and outer baskets in at least one of their operating positions, said frame including an inner circular support member for supporting similar ends of said guiding means, means carried by said frame for supporting the other similar ends of said guiding means, said guide means of each of the rollers of said inner roller basket includes a pair of parallel guiding rods, means for connecting the rollers of said inner roller baskets to said rods in a manner that the rollers are free to move radially relative to said rods, a tri-sided frame secured to said rod connecting means arranged to enclose said rods and then associated roller, means carried by said frame for supporting the outer ends of said rods and a screw jack means for one of said rollers of said inner roller basket, and means for connecting said screw jack means to one of the sides of said tri-sided frame.
 2. An accumulator for weblike material, a first series of rollers arranged to form a circular inner roller basket of said accumulator, a second series of rollers arranged to form a circular outer roller basket of said accumulator, said two baskets being arranged relative to each other so that a number of convolutions of the material can be wound into two distinct coils separated from each other by a reversible loop of said material, and said rollers of each basket being arranged in cooperative pairs, separate means for independently supporting each cooperative pair of rollers, means for guiding said separate means for supporting said pair of rollers in radial directions relative to the axes of said formed coils, said guiding means having opposed ends, the construction being such that each cooperative pair of rollers of one of said baskets and its associated guiding means are arranged circumferentially relative to the axes of said formed coils between two cooperative pairs of rollers of the other basket and their associated guiding means, screw jack means for independently adjusting, at least, some of said pairs of said first and second rollers, means for connecting said jack means to a different one of said separate means for supporting, a frame having a member arranged outside of the ends of said formed coils and in a plane normal to the axes of said formed coils having an opening concentric with the axes of said formed coils sufficient to expose to the outside of said frame said inner and outer baskets in at least one of their operating positions, said frame including an inner circular support member for supporting similar ends of said guiding means, means carried by said frame for supporting the other similar ends of said guiding means, said guide means of each of the rollers of said outer roller basket includes a pair of parallel guiding rods, means for connecting the rollers of said outer roller basket to said rods in a manner that the rollers are free to move radially relative to said rods, means carried by said frame for supporting the outer ends of said rods and said screw jack means for one of the rollers of said outer roller basket, and means for connecting said screw jack means to its associated roller of said outer roller basket. 